Back to school: 'Professor' Pete Carroll returns to USC

Former Southern California and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is going back to school.

Carroll told Seattle's Sports Radio 93.3 KJR-FM on Tuesday that he will be teaching a class at USC this spring.

"I'm looking forward to that," he said. "It's going to be a really exciting endeavor when it's finalized and all that."

The radio appearance marked Carroll's first comments to Seattle media since his farewell news conference with the Seahawks in January.

Carroll did not provide any specifics about his plans for the classroom.

"Everybody wants to know what I'm doing and all that, am I coaching or what am I doing. I'm working with some really fun people and some exciting opportunities to do some really cool stuff and putting things together ... for others, so I'm going to keep working that way and see what happens," he said.

Carroll's Seahawks finished 9-8 in 2023 but missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. He compiled a record of 137-89-1 in Seattle, including a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII, before being replaced by Mike Macdonald.

"I haven't talked to those guys at all," Carroll said of his recent interactions with the Seahawks. "I ran into Mike in the parking lot one day, and it was a great chance to just, the two of us alone, to meet, say hey and kind of get greeted, and on we go. I have not had much to do with them in any way, and really I'm just watching the games a little bit when I see them on TV."

Carroll was the head coach of the Trojans from 2001-09, leading them to an undefeated national championship season in 2004. Before arriving at USC, he was the head coach of the New York Jets (1994) and New England Patriots (1997-99).

Carroll, who turns 73 next month, left open the possibility of a return to coaching.

"I get asked it a lot and I'm pretty familiar with the answer now," he said. "I could coach tomorrow. I'm physically in the best shape I've been in in a long time. I'm ready to do all the activities that I'm doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I don't really -- I'm not desiring it at this point. This isn't the coaching season. We'll see what happens.

"I'm not waiting on it at all. I'm going ahead. I've got other things that I want to do that I'm excited about, and I'm going to see how all that goes. I'm not thinking that I'm holding my breath and that kind of thing. If it's been 40-something years, 48 years or whatever coaching, and [if] that's it, I'll feel OK about that."

--Field Level Media